UK-China collaboration in higher education

As 2014 gets under way, a reminder of a new agreement reached between The Open University and the OU in China. The OU's Vice-Chancellor, Martin Bean (pictured above) has his sights on expanding the university's presence in international markets. This was one deal reached last month as part of David Cameron's trade, culture and education visit to China. China has a middle-class of 600 million - bigger than the European Union population. My former colleagues at FCO and UKTI put so much thought and planning into these visits. The UK education sector contributes around £18 million to British exports. Education can be a great leveller, and open opportunities - as well as minds. We should be really proud of what UK higher education institutions - universities, colleges, the whole sector- are achieving globally.